As coach Tom Proudian has said many times, “No team wants to play their best basketball of the season in December.”
After a convincing 59-35 win Monday at Harrison, the Garnets enter the holiday break with a winning record and a taste of who this team may become.
This one was all Rye from the opening tip. The Garnets (3-2) never trailed and limited Harrison (1-3) to 11 points in the first half.
“We’re starting to understand who we are as a team,” Proudian said. “We want to play up-tempo, we want to press and trap where we can, use our athleticism to our advantage. It’s still early, but all I care about right now is improving a little each game. Tonight, I was pleased with our effort. This is the type of basketball team we intend to be.”
Points in this game were well-distributed between seniors Henry Shoemaker (12), Carson Miller (9), Sebastian Lewis (8), and junior Ben Hudson (10). Junior Luke Denvir had some strong minutes for Rye, and Ryan Hess came off the bench to add a couple of buckets and two beautiful assists.
“We’re in a better place as a team tonight than we were 10 days ago,” Proudian said. “And the goal is to be in a better place than tonight 10 days from now. We’ll rest up, enjoy the holidays with our families, and be ready to get after it in January.”
Rye’s next game is its home opener, at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 6 against New Rochelle.
RYE 54, EASTCHESTER 34 – A day after losing to Horace Greeley, the Garnets got healthy in a hurry against an overmatched Eastchester squad. Rye won without much resistance from the Eagles (1-5), and by game’s end, everyone on Rye’s roster saw the floor in some capacity.
Shoemaker led all scorers with 19 points, Hudson had 13, and Miller 10.
The Garnets were able to move the ball well on offense against a young Eastchester team and create multiple fast-break scoring opportunities thanks to some active-hand pressure defense.
HORACE GREELEY 68, RYE 58 – In a high-scoring affair Dec. 18 in Chappaqua, the Garnets had several stretches that were reminiscent of their run to the section championship game last year.
Miller led all Rye scorers with 20, Shoemaker added 19, and Hudson 14, but it wasn’t enough to hand Greeley (4-0) its first loss.
Despite some positive steps for Proudian’s boys on offense, this game will be remembered for its substantial number of Garnet unforced errors. Turnovers, traveling, and misdirected passes out of bounds seemed to add up by the dozen for Rye.
This squad is loaded with athletes. They just need some more time to solidify.
